Mililani Girls Tennis Team Plays For West Slot In States
By Jack Danilewicz
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Mililani High School tennis
player Lokelani Paia. Photo
by Nathalie Walker,
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With an undefeated Oahu Interscholastic Association regular season to their credit, the Mililani girls tennis team will enter next month’s Carlsmith Ball Tennis State Tennis Tournament among the favorites.
That may be only fitting, given that the Trojans were the last OIA team to win a state tennis title. If anything, the rest of the OIA can’t help but view them as the league’s best bet to end the Interscholastic League of Honolulu’s run of eight straight titles.
“With this team, anything is possible,” said Mililani coach May Ann Beamer, who coached the team to state titles in 1997 and ‘99 in addition to eight OIA championships. “These girls just love to play tennis. They’ve bonded well and are enthusiastic every day. We’re looking forward to going to Maui.”
The girls were to take part in the OIA West’s individual qualifying round over the weekend. The top eight finishers in both the singles and doubles tournaments earn entry into next month’s Carlsmith Ball Tennis State Tennis Tournament. Nothing would complement the Trojans’ stellar regular season more than a state title.
Mililani’s hopes for that center around an all-star cast that includes Megan Yoshimoto, Adrienne Hamada, Erica Kunihisa, Loke Paia and team captain Erin Yamamoto.
Yoshimoto, a junior, entered last weekend as the West’s top-seeded singles player, having compiled an 11-0 mark during the OIA’s regular season.
“Megan is one you can always depend on,” Beamer said. “She’s a very good all-around player whose strength is her desire and tenacity to win. She plays in a lot of tournaments (outside of Mililani High School).”
Hamada is a freshman competing at the No. 2 singles spot. She was moved up to varsity following a junior varsity season that saw her compete in the No. 1 singles slot, and she had little trouble with the transition, going 11-0 this spring.
“She’s a very good up-and-coming player,” Beamer said. “We call her ‘Little Girl’ because she’s been a student of mine since she
was a little girl. She’s also a flexible player. She can play singles as well as doubles.”
The Trojans also feature the top-seeded doubles team in the West in junior Erica Kunihisa and senior Loke Paia. The pair won all four matches after being paired together.
“Those two are power players,” Beamer said. “Loke is very strong up at the net, and Erica sets her up.”
Beamer calls Yamamoto, a senior who will compete at doubles, “the glue that bonds us.”
“Erin is very well-liked - she brings us all together with her personality,” she added.“The girls all look up to her.”
Through the years, Beamer’s holistic approach has never wavered. She will return to coaching both the boys and girls programs next season, having coached only the girls this year.
“What we’ve always tried to stress is keeping themselves healthy, having a discipline for the game, and giving 100 percent (effort) to practices and the drills,” she said. “We work on an all-around game.”
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